The present invention relates to a bed and more particularly to a bed for a pet animal.
The invention has been developed primarily as a dog bed, and will be described hereinafter with reference to this application. However, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to this field of use.
Owners of pet animals are faced with a number of requirements to ensure the animal""s health and well being. Along with-sufficient food and appropriate medical care, it is necessary to provide suitable bedding which ensures the animal is physically comfortable when sleeping or resting. In view of the fact that many animals are housed out of doors or in relatively cold areas such as laundries indoors, ensuring that the animal does not catch a chill from cold flooring when sleeping is of considerable importance.
In the past, one approach has been to provide piles of bedding such as blankets or rugs, which form a thermal barrier between the cold floor and the sleeping animal. However, such an arrangement is relatively untidy and lacks aesthetic appeal. This problem has been reduced somewhat in the past by providing some form of base, such as a wicker basket, which holds bedding within a particular defined area. However, wicker baskets and the like tend to be difficult to keep clean, especially in regions where fleas and other parasites are a problem.
Another, more recent solution has been to provide a raised bed, comprising a rigid frame with a flexible covering. The covering can take the form of a flexible, trampoline-like mat, or can simply be hessian or some other suitably strong fabric. The frame is typically rectangular, with rigid legs extending downwardly to engage the floor. In some cases these legs are detachable by means of wing nuts or the like, to enable easier transportation or storage. Whilst this arrangement is an improvement over the wicker basket, it still has some disadvantages associated with it. In particular, the rigid nature of the frame means that the animal is not provided with a supple bed. In the case of large or heavy dogs in particular, this can be a problem, since bone and skin problems can arise from inadequate bedding. Furthermore, such beds typically require manipulation of a number of fastening bolts to enable the bed to fold down for storage or transport.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a pet bed which may be readily folded and dismantled for transport or storage.
According to this invention there is provided a pet bed for use on a floor, the pet bed including:
a pair of frames, each including a floor engaging end and an upper end distal the floor engaging end;
hinge means interconnecting the frame intermediate the floor engaging end and the upper end, to form a scissor arrangement;
a flexible sling extending between the upper ends of the frames to define a support are for a pet;
wherein, in use, the frames engage the floor at an angle of less than 45xc2x0;
each of the frames comprising first and second sub-frames;
each sub-frame including a pair of arms linked by an intermediate member;
a distal end of each arm including connection means allowing each pair of sub-frames to be linked together.
Preferably the frames engage the floor at an angle of less then about 30xc2x0.
Preferably also, the pet bed includes linking means extending between adjacent linking points on the frames, each linking point being disposed intermediate the floor engaging portions and hinge means on each of the frames.
In a particularly preferred emibodiment, each of the frames comprises first and second sub-frames, each sub-frame including a pair of arms linked by an intermediate member. A distal end of each arm includes connection means allowing each pair of sub-frames to be linked together. Preferably, the connection means takes the form of telescopically engageable portions.